4:11 The mighty lion 1 perishes 2 for lack of prey,
and the cubs of the lioness 3 are scattered.
9:26 They glide by 4 like reed 5 boats,
like an eagle that swoops 6 down on its prey. 7
28:7 a hidden path 8 no bird of prey knows –
no falcon’s 9 eye has spotted it.
29:17 I broke the fangs 10 of the wicked,
and made him drop 11 his prey from his teeth.
38:39 “Do you hunt prey for the lioness,
and satisfy the appetite 12 of the lions,
39:29 From there it spots 13 its prey, 14
its eyes gaze intently from a distance.
1 tn The word לַיִשׁ (layish) traditionally rendered “strong lion,” occurs only here and in Prov 30:30 and Isa 30:6. It has cognates in several of the Semitic languages, and so seems to indicate lion as king of the beasts.
2 tn The form of the verb is the Qal active participle; it stresses the characteristic action of the verb as if a standard universal truth.
3 tn The text literally has “sons of the lioness.”
4 tn Heb “they flee.”
5 tn The word אֵבֶה (’eveh) means “reed, papyrus,” but it is a different word than was in 8:11. What is in view here is a light boat made from bundles of papyrus that glides swiftly along the Nile (cf. Isa 18:2 where papyrus vessels and swiftness are associated).
6 tn The verb יָטוּשׂ (yatus) is also a hapax legomenon; the Aramaic cognate means “to soar; to hover in flight.” The sentence here requires the idea of swooping down while in flight.
7 tn Heb “food.”
8 tn The “path” could refer to the mine shaft or it could refer to wisdom. The former seems more likely in the present context; the word “hidden is supplied in the translation to indicate the mines are “hidden” from sharp-eyed birds of prey above.
9 sn The kind of bird mentioned here is debated. The LXX has “vulture,” and so some commentaries follow that. The emphasis on the sight favors the view that it is the falcon.
10 tn The word rendered “fangs” actually means “teeth,” i.e., the molars probably; it is used frequently of the teeth of wild beasts. Of course, the language is here figurative, comparing the oppressing enemy to a preying animal.
11 tn “I made [him] drop.” The verb means “to throw; to cast,” throw in the sense of “to throw away.” But in the context with the figure of the beast with prey in its mouth, “drop” or “cast away” is the idea. Driver finds another cognate meaning “rescue” (see AJSL 52 [1935/36]: 163).
12 tn Heb “fill up the life of.”
13 tn The word means “search,” but can be used for a wide range of matters, including spying.
14 tn Heb “food.”